Katie in the UK: London Life: Orientation

Things got going today with orientation for the new exchange students! We met in the lobby of Dinwiddy House and were escorted by a few year-long exchange students (called our "ambassadors") to the SOAS main campus. I have to admit, I was under the impression that it was only a 5-10 minute walk from my residential hall, but unfortunately, it's more like 20-25 minutes. And apparently public transportation is somewhat indirect, and could take even longer than walking. Hopefully the weather will never get too cold, but I'm more worried about the rain. Either way, it will be good exercise each day, and this neighborhood is new and interesting to explore.

We first gathered in Brunei Theatre, right on the SOAS main campus in Russell Square. The first and most important task of the day was learning how to register for classes. This is quite crucial, considering they start, well, tomorrow! Basically, we are supposed to "shop" for classes this week, attending ones we might be interested in, getting a signature from the lecturer, and officially registering by Friday.

After learning about classes and academics, we then had a brief tour of the main building, which is home to classrooms and lecture halls, a couple of small cafes, and the library. Then we ate lunch at Tas, a nice Turkish restaurant near campus. We had the entire basement dining room to ourselves (there are probably about 75 term two exchange students), so that we were able to talk with one another and meet new people.

We then returned to the main campus and went over some general logistics of living in London, such as how to use public transportation, safety, and traveling to other areas of the UK and Europe. There was a question and answer session with our ambassadors, which was quite helpful.

Since returning from orientation, I spent the majority of my day trying to find classes that work for my requirements at BC, seem interesting, and do not conflict with one another. This was no easy task. Unlike at BC, it is very difficult to schedule classes back-to-back, because many of them are in different areas of the campus, and there is only a short 5 minutes between the end and start of each new class. Furthermore, each hourlong lecture comes with a "tutorial" (a sort of smaller discussion section) that meets at a different time in the week. Somehow, I managed to be attracted to classes that all met on Mondays. So, it took awhile for me to hunt around for new classes that would work with my schedule and interests. I seem to have narrowed it down to the perfect 4:

Introduction to Arabic Dialects
Islamic Law
Violence, Identity, and Politics in Modern East and Northeast Africa
States, People, and Power in Asia and Africa

I chose each of these classes because they are very different from courses offered at BC. For example, although I have taken more than 2 years of Arabic, I have no knowledge of different dialects used throughout the Middle East. This course will focus specifically on the dialects of Jordanian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Israeli Arabic - I'm quite excited! Plus, if these classes work out the way I plan, I won't have class on Wednesday or Friday: hello 3-day weekend!

After much laboring over classes, schedules, and trying to figure out how the heck to get back to the SOAS main campus, Eric and I went out for a quick bite to eat at a local pizza parlor, since neither of us have gone grocery shopping yet. That is definitely a top priority for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll be attending my first class, Islamic Law, and am planning on leaving 2 hours early for class (I'm serious, 2 hours early) to make sure that no matter how many times I get lost, I make it on time. I also have to get my Dinwiddy ID card (so that I can get into my building - pretty important), and my SOAS Student ID card, which allows me to check out books from the library, swipe into different academic buildings, and receive discounts from local shops and restaurants. I also have to buy a cell phone since I'll be here for a few months, and need to be able to communicate with other students, etc. I have a lot to do, but I'm excited for things to get going!

For any who are interested in my humble abode here in London, I took a few pictures to give you an idea of where I'll be living for the next few months. It's small, but very nice to have my own room and bathroom. It definitely needs some livening up, though, and I hope to get working on that once I have my classes and necessities figured out.